By Taylor Abbot
We’ve gathered a collection of our favourites—21 standout pieces of in-depth reporting, thought-provoking essays, and captivating profiles from the past year. Consider it a carefully curated feast of stories, perfect for savouring over the holidays.
Illustration by GAY45
Sex Worker and Photographer: Vincent Wechselberger Portrays Queers Who Offer Sex for Money
Vincent Wechselberger has been working as a part-time sex worker since he came to Berlin. He has now published a book with pictures of his colleagues’ everyday lives.
Eurovision Remains a Litmus Test for Europe’s Queer Communities
Analysing Eurovision’s role as a cultural barometer for the progress and challenges faced by queer communities across Europe.
Editorial: Why The Wire’s Omar Little is the Most Important Queer Character of the Century
An in-depth analyse of Omar Little character as a transformative queer icon challenging traditional masculinity and representation on-screen.
Behind the Story of the Berlin Darkroom Killer
The founder of GAY45 is passionate about the psychology of serial crime. Especially of documentaries on queer serial killers. This is the story of the heinous crimes of the “Berlin Darkroom Killer”.
Oscar Wilde Would Have Been on Grindr
It has never been so easy to find love, or sex, quickly. In 2024, there is nothing shameful or illicit about using dating apps or digital tools to connect with someone else. More than 100 years ago, of course, things were very different.
Salomeya Bauer: ‘Art Is Always Involved in Protest’
Raised in the North Caucasus and living in Tbilisi, Salomeya Bauer is an artist and documentary filmmaker. Miruna Tiberiu sits down with Salomeya to discuss the importance of art as activism and her hopes for Georgia’s future.
Sudan’s Queer Refugees: The Forgotten Victims of the ‘Forgotten War’
Since the start of the Civil War in Sudan last April, when tensions between the country’s de facto ruling junta and dissident militants boiled over into all-out fighting, over 11 million people in the country have been forcibly displaced.
Cross-Dressing Nazis
Ironically, all these cross-dressing soldiers were fighting for a regime that sent queer people and cross dressers to concentration camps.
“Pussy Licking Sodomites”: Stuart Linden Rhodes’s Euphoric Portraits of the Roaring ’90s
In 1990s Manchester, photographer Stuart Linden Rhodes (@linden_archives) stood unwittingly at the edge of a silent cultural upheaval.
Extreme Far-Right Queer Movement in Europe Confirmed by Austrian and German Elections
Recent research following the European Parliament elections, and even more current data, reveals a troubling trend: a significant portion of Europe’s queer community—between 17% and 30%—is voting for far-right parties.
Ciprian Chiujdea, the New Wunderkind of European Cinema
Ciprian Chiujdea’s journey from Cannes newcomer to Queer Palm darling is the stuff of festival folklore. The Romanian contemporary theatre dancer and actor, a face unknown just days prior, found himself the breakout star of ‘Three Kilometers to the End of the World.’
Derek Abella: The Famous Illustrator and the Queer Naked Soul
Derek Abella is a queer Cuban-American illustrator and writer living in New York. Illustrating otherworldliness and nostalgia, Derek creates dream-like sequences that offer an idyllic perspective on the past.
The Narrative Behind a 1944 Nude Photograph
For a long time, this photograph was distributed on the internet with no author or credits. The beauty of the photograph and the soldier engaged in battle makes it breathtaking.
Roy Garrett: The Poet of Porn and Passion
Roy Garrett arrived in New York City hungry to explore the sex and porn scenes he’d seen advertised in the Village Voice’s classified section.
Jean-Baptiste Del Amo: Fraco (short story)
.A fabulous short story of Jean-Baptiste Del Amo a French writer and winner of Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman.
Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar, Trans
Superstar and transgender icon Candy Darling was glamour personified, but she was without a real place in the world.
A Profile: Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s First Gay Prime Minister
When Leo Varadkar’s mother, Miriam, was interviewed by The Irish Times before his confirmation as Taoiseach in 2017, she said, “I knew he’d be a leader. I knew he’d be something. I knew he would reach the top in whatever he chose.” He is now considered the most successful Prime Minister, not only in Ireland but in the whole of Europe.
Walt Whitman, the Epic Poet and Peter Doyle, the Streetcar Conductor and Muse
Walt Whitman is the only established epic poet of America. He is the single American figure that both American and European artists and critics most often put in a class or throw into a category with Shakespeare, Dante and Homer. What about the love of his life?
BRAT’s Manifesto for the Modern Party Girl
With BRAT, Charli XCX promised her most “aggressive” release to date. Then “brat” and “green” became political symbols, from the Labour Party in the UK to Kamala Harris.
Balenciaga: Husbands, Bondage Teddy Bears and the Arrogance of Luxury
The Balenciaga creative director has proven himself one of the most adept and blunt bottlers of our zeitgeist for the past decade, and his artistic interpretations are among the most polarizing and debated in fashion.
The Dark Underbelly of Glamour: In the Psychopathic Shadow of John Galliano
Under a bridge in Paris, a chilling atmosphere sets the stage for a tale that intertwines the haunting allure of singer Lucky Love and the shadowy history of fashion icon John Galliano.
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